The Other Side of the Door
by ScoobyDoobyDee
Summary: CS One-Shots from a tumblr prompts. Each chapter is a seperate unit. Rating will change if need be (i.e. I'm not opposed to writing smut if you want it).
1. Chapter 1

From the tumblr prompt:

suilestrange asked:

you got that right. Everything hurts. And I need someone to write something about emma breaking down after she made Walsh go Poof. and Killian just sitting at the other side of the door, his head against the door listening to her muffled sobs. And he wants to go in there to console her but it's not what she needs. So he just keeps standing there until it all goes quite and she'll sigh and get up and Thank him. because she just KNEW he was standing there, giving her space, truly saving her.

* * *

It was odd how she just stepped back into Storybrooke like the past year of her life had not happened. Well, except for keeping up the charade for Henry's sake. He still did not have his memories back, and Emma thought it was all for the best. She did not want those memories of them together to be erased, for him to find out that she had abandoned him, like she had been abandoned.

Emma walked into her office after having reclaimed her position as the sheriff. She closed the door behind her for the first time, though, needing a moment to herself in private. It felt like her heart had been replaced with a rock, and all the pain she felt of being betrayed the first time with Neal came flooding back to her. This time, it had been Walsh. And Emma was sure that there was always going to be another heartache around the corner from her. She could not escape her destiny, whether it was being the savior or being forever alone.

Suddenly, the feelings she had been keeping inside were too much for her, and she felt the trickle of a tear fall down her cheek before it became a steady stream. She leaned back on the door and slid down onto the floor, her legs too shaky to hold up the heavy weight of her heart. She curled her legs into herself and let the sob that she had been holding in for days out into her knees. It was too much. It was all too much.

All these emotions that had swirled within her were being released at once. All the feelings of guilt of giving Henry up, of anger at her parents for giving her up, of betrayal by Neal, and of deceit from Walsh. But the most she felt was the burden of being the Savior, of never having the happy ending she dreamed. It would not be possible because there was always another curse to break or person to save. It was never ending, and Emma found herself mourning the loss of the life she could have had.

Her sobs slowly formed into sniffles, and she smelled the faint scent of leather and rum coming from the other side of the door. She did not move, even though she knew he was there. It did not matter to her anymore. Hook had already seen her vulnerable back in New York, and it was nice having someone to share her pain.

Emma sighed and finally got up. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. She needed to be strong like she had her entire life. She turned the handle and saw him standing there, silent but offering her comfort nonetheless. A small red mark was on his forehead, and she knew that he had been leaning his head against the door.

She smiled at him as a wordless "thanks" for being there for her but giving her the space that she needed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: In response to a tumblr prompt by hook-your-killian-is-showing**

* * *

Emma rushed out of her parent's apartment and made a beeline for outside. He followed her down the stairs and out of the door and watched as she approached her vessel.

"Swan. Swan!" he called after her until she stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing?"

"This is not up for discussion," she answered shortly and turned to look at him.

"You can't just leave Storybrooke," he reasoned.

"I have to do this for Henry. He needs to have a normal and stable life, and he can only get that back in New York – away from all this," she gestured around vaguely.

"Are you sure this rash decision doesn't concern someone else?" he pursed his lips and looked at her expectantly.

"This has nothing to do with you!" she shouted at him angrily, but the guilty look in her eye made it obvious that he had hit a nerve.

"This has everything to do with me," he retorted just as loudly. "You're running away, Swan. From me. From your feelings. You're scared of getting hurt again," he blurted out. He did not mean to be so blunt, but his frustrations had got the better of him. She was putting him in a very precarious position.

"I'm not running," she mumbled half-heartedly and looked away. "I have to do what's best for my son."

Hook let a sarcastic laugh slip out and shook his head. "You surprise me, Emma. I would never have thought that you could use your boy as a means of escape. Henry is fine here. He is surrounded by his family, by people who love him. Tearing him away from that wouldn't be for his benefit. In fact, it would be detrimental."

"He doesn't know that they're his family!" she turned back to him.

"Because you won't tell him. Don't use his ignorance as an excuse. You've been stringing him along for months now. Tell him the truth, even if it devastates him. He deserves to know," he finished but realized that the last part was not about Henry at all. He wondered if Emma would realize it, as well.

Emma blinked a few times, opening her mouth to say something and then shutting it again. She must have understood that the person of whom he was actually speaking was himself. Hook gave her a moment to gather her thoughts, and when she was ready, she spoke. "I have to focus on what's best for Henry."

Hook growled and balled his hand into a fist to keep from yelling at her. "What about what's best for you?"

"And you think you know what's best for me?" she asked, daring him to confirm it.

Hook sighed. She was being so stubborn. He did not expect a declaration of undying love from her, but after everything they had been through, he thought that she would at least give him a chance. He rubbed the stubble along his jaw absentmindedly and spread his arms out like he was bringing everything out in the open.

"You know me, Swan. I have never tried telling you that. I believe in you and your decisions, but this isn't a decision. It's an act of cowardice."

Emma glared at him, her mouth dropping in disbelief. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. Why are you acting like this?"

"Why am I acting like this? I'm trying to get through to you. You have… you have everything here, right in front of you." It was suddenly too much for him. He was getting dangerously close to confessing everything right then and there. He scrubbed his hand over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. Perhaps he needed to say it to her, so she would know. So she could make a real decision not run away from the possibility of one.

"Emma, I'm acting like this because you have my heart. It belongs to you, and if you leave, you will take it with you, no matter how far you go. You will have it, even if I never get the chance to have yours, and I can't bare the thought of that." He held his arms out openly. "Alas, I can at least say that I tried." Before he had a chance to talk himself out of it, he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a rough and desperate kiss.

His lips slid over hers like they were made for each other. He could not bare the thought of losing her again, after he had fought so hard to get her back the first time. He poured all of his feelings, all of his desires, into this one moment. He could only hope that she could see the man he was becoming, the man that could be - someone who was good enough for her, who deserved her. He pulled back, keeping his arms around her waist, and checked her reaction.

She seemed to be as struck as he had been during their first kiss. Her eyes fluttered open, trained on his lips, before they rose to look into his eyes. She held eye contact for a hair's breath before diving back in for another kiss.

He knew he had gotten the answer to her decision.


End file.
